A Chance of Redemption
by Deviox
Summary: Left on a dying alien world, Suzume passes away. She assumed that she would only be worthy of hell, but when Eiki Shiki finds herself unable to judge the alien, Suzume is instead sent to live on Gensokyo, as a second chance at life.
1. Chapter 1

Breathing was getting difficult again. Shame that I'll have to make this filter last a bit longer. Holding back a sigh, I check outside to see sand still flying around. I've been in this cave for a week too long. Perhaps an eternal sandstorm is what this planet's future is. Returning back to my campfire, I check the can sit directly in the fire. That'll do.

I lift off my gas mask to start eating my meal. I don't know how much longer I'm going to survive. I'm praying to whatever sick deity that let this happen for there to be food and filters left in the next town. I let my mind wander while I eat. It's been, what, two years since I've seen anything alive. Shit, I forgot to set my timer. I reach over to my bag to see that my watch has given out. Holding back yet another sigh, I throw the watch aside. I quickly eat up the rest of my meal and quickly put the mask back on. I take a deep breath of the musky air the mask provides me.

I run my hands on the hard stone wall behind me, remembering my actions ever since this has started. I could have stopped it. Hell, my life and soul would have given what would stay some form of, I don't know, peace? All the people I've killed just so I could live. I'm just a selfish soul. The gates of hell will open wide for me, its owner taking me in with open arms.

I could end it all now actually. All I have to do is take off this mask long enough for the poison in the air to kill me. It would be long, slow, and painful, but it would be an ending befitting me. Hell, I'm out of filters, and this one is probably already leaking in. I sift through my bag again, and find my bottle of sleeping pills. I empty what remains of to my hand, and see three remaining. I lift off the mask and throw it aside. I won't be needing it anymore. I down the pills and rest my head back on the cave wall. The pills work quickly.

I awaken slowly to see a redhead staring at me. "Killing yourself was stupid." She said. I try to rub my eyes, only to find myself unable to. She pulls a wooden pole from her side, no, wait, it's a Scythe! So Death is a girl, a red-headed, pigtailed girl with a huge Rack. "Normally, here would be the part where I'd take the fee, but my boss told me to bring you over with haste, so I guess you're getting a free ride." She returns her Scythe to where it was, leaving me to feel a change in momentum.

I quickly check my surroundings. The first thing I notice is that, except for the girl, everything is grayscale. Taking a look down, it seems that I'm on a sort of boat, which means I'm on a river. A huge river too. "Geez, this is going to take forever." Death said, in an annoying manner. "Well, since we have a long trip ahead of us, I might as well introduce myself. I am Komachi Onozuka, farrier of the dead."

I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. I try to reach for my throat, only to find myself unable to move my arms again. "I see." Komachi says. "Well, Welcome aboard the Titanic, Suzume." Komachi said, almost as if I actually said something. "Oh, confused are you? Well, I'm sure it will all make sense in due time."

As the boat ran ashore, I was greeted with a vast expanse of an endless garden. "Welcome to Higan. Your judge, Eiki Shiki is waiting for you." Komachi helped me off of the boat, and pointed me in a direction. I found myself unable to walk, yet, I moved forward never the less.

Soon, I see a small woman, holding a metal slab. I assume that she was Eiki Shiki. As I draw closer, I inspect the woman more. She has green short green hair, a dark blue hat with gold on it. The gold has words written in a foreign language. She wears a Blue, Black and White dress. It all comes together to show of someone of very important significance.

"Suzume Michishun. Last of a race that has since forgotten its name. You are here to be Judged." The woman said, her voice full of power. "Will you go to Heaven, Hell, The Netherworld, or will you be reincarnated?" The answer was clear to me. Hell. "I am here to judge you and decide your true worth."

"The list of your crimes is truly a long one. Countless accounts of Murder, Theft, Conspiring against your partners are but a few of your sins." The judge proclaimed, as all sorts of foreign words appear on the metal slab. Wait, is it getting heavier? She then dropped it, and it landed with a very loud thud. "Lift the weight of your sins."

I bend over to pick it up, my arms finally responding. As I grab it, I try to pull up, but it feels as though it's bolted to the floor. "Those who are unable to lift their own sins are not worth Heaven." Eiki then bends over and picks up the slab of metal herself and places it on a large-scale. Wait, where did that scale come from? The white side rockets up.

I inspect the scale. It appears to be made of pure gold one container is colored deep, dark black, the other is bright, shining white. My judge speaks up, grabbing my attention. "Stare forth into yourself. What do you see?" Eiki is now holding a mirror to me. I stare into it, seeing nothing but clouds. I stare at it for a few more seconds, until I see a dreadful memory.

"I… I want my mommy!" The little boy I'm hugging shouts. I gently rock the kid, rubbing his back.

"Shhh…" I coax him. "Shh. Everything will be alright." I lie. I remember the gun to my side. I can't support a kid as it currently is. But if I abandon him, I'll just be leaving him to die by the wolfs in this forest. I look at the two corpses lying next to us. One a man, another a woman.

The boy sniffs, tears raining from his eyes harder than it is outside. "But, but…"

"Shh, I'll take you to see your parents, okay?" I say, knowing what my next course of action is going to be. I'll just have to make it fast. "I'm sorry." I apologize.

"F-for what?" the boy asks innocently.

"This." I sab the boy in the heart, and the boy's body instantly goes limp. I get a stronger grip on the boy, and slowly lay him down, next to his parents. Tears are now rolling down my eyes. Closing my eyes, I run my fingers down the boy's and his parents.

I feel tears of regret rolling down my eyes. My judge stares hard at me. "One who both truly and greatly regrets their actions, are not worth of Hell." Eiki places the mirror on the scale, opposite of my sins. The scale tilts slightly more evenly, still greatly in favor of my sins however.

"Your actions over the last 28 years have been nothing but selfish. Those who act selfish are not worthy of the Netherworld." Eiki calls out, unevening the scale further. "However, there is one last thing we must inspect before we can truly decide if you're worthy of reincarnation. Circumstance."

The judge walks towards me. "The circumstances in which you performed your actions can greatly affect the weight of your sins." She then glares deeply into me. "You were on a dying world, left with very few choices of survival." I suddenly hear the scale creek. "Left in a dog-eat-dog world. Kill or be killed. Survival of the fittest." The scale creeks more and more, yet find myself unable to look away from the woman in front of me.

"Those are the circumstances you lived under, making you unworthy of immediate reincarnation." Finally, I find myself able to look at the scale, unable to decide which side was heavier. "You're filled with both black and white. Far too much of both for me to come to a proper verdict. I am left with but one, rarely treaded upon option. To return you to the living." Eiki Shiki then walks behind me. "But the same circumstances that have left me to my judgement is also leaving me unable to send you to where your sentence would normally be held out."

"As such, I must send you to where a world where all that is forgotten remains. Gensokyo."


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Well, it's been a while. I suppose I'll just make a long story short: My Beta reader disappeared and I couldn't find a new one. So instead of just letting this rot forever, I'll just post this unrevised chapter and then lit it rot forever. Unless there's enough demand for me to revive it.

* * *

With Suzume escorted back to Komachi's boat, Eiki Shiki hears a voice behind her. "I see you like your new toy." It says. The judge turns around to face her new guest.

"I was hoping not to use it so soon, Yukari." Eiki said towards Yukari. She wore a white and purple dress. On Top of her head was a white mob cap. "It wouldn't be a stretch to say you were observing your newest resident?"

"Oh my, straight to the point. I was hoping to have some tea with you, but…"

"Stop fooling around, You know well that I do not have time for such things right now." Eiki said, cutting off Yukari, who put her fan in front of her face. No doubt smirking.

"Honestly, so stuck up. You should learn a thing or two from your Shinigami. But if I must get to the point, I will." Yukari folded her fan, taking up a far more serious face. "How long do you expect her to survive in Gensokyo?" Yukari asked.

"Longer than you would expect." Eiki replied vaguely. Yukari raised an eyebrow.

"Oh realy? I'm surprised that you place such faith in her."

"Stop acting like she's he's Human. We both know that she's not."

"True, but do you expect her to adapt to this new land if she'd scare everyone away?" Yukari inquired.

"Which is why you are planning to provide her with a human appearance." Eiki shot back.

"Dear me, you know me better than I thought you did." Yukari opened her fan in front of her face again. "Well, I suppose I must be off then. Replacement bodies don't come out of thin air you know." A void of eyes then opened up in front of Yukari. "Oh, and one last thing. She's likely to survive far longer than you're giving her credit for." Yukari then stepped into the void, with it closing behind her.

Eiki only smirked. "Am I realy?"

"You know, It's not every day someone's given a second chance at life." Komachi told me, rowing her boat. "You should consider yourself lucky." I try to speak up, yet find myself unable to again.

"Ah, those old 'my relative was found trying to claw her way out of her coffin.' A classic campfire story." Komachi said, replying to what I wanted to say. I still gotta figure out how she's doing that. Well, If I'm going back to the land of the living, it shouldn't matter too much.

Komachi stares out for a moment. Probably daydreaming on the job. She told me earlier she was about to go on 'break' when she dropped me off. I mean, she doesn't make herself out to be the hard working type. "You know, speaking about 'Land of the Living,' there been a minor change of plans."

"Instead of being given your old body, you're going to be given the body of one of the dominate species around here. They call themself Human."

When the boat pulled up to land again, things seemed to have a lot less gloom. On the table was a body of what I would assume is a Human. It has shoulder length white hair, worse a plain white T-Shirt, and blue Jeans. "That's going to be your new body." Komachi said, approaching it. She gives it a good look, before returning to me. "Now then, this might feel a bit funny." And with that she grabbed me.

The next few minutes were a blur. I can't be sure what she did exactly, but when that was all over, I found myself laying down on the table. I soon sit myself up, and take a look at my hands just before running them down my face. I look around and see a lot less grey, and more colors.

My surroundings look like what you would see at an undisturbed lake. Flowers, Grass and Water, all flowing and swaying with a very gentle breeze. As I roll myself off of the table, I start to feel and notice a few new things with this body. Mostly details when you get down to it, but new, foreign things never the less.

A new center of balance, for example, will take some getting used to. The new physical structure of my body is also significantly differently. "How's the new body?" Komachi asks me. I wobble around, thinking of a good response.

"Different." I eventually decide on, stumbling around a bit more.

"Well, when you're used to your new body, you should head on your way." Komachi says. "I'd recommend going east. You'll come across a road eventually. Follow that road and you'll come across the Human village. Are you following me?"

"Yes. I see where you're coming from."

"Good. Once there find a teacher there named Keine. She'll get you on your feet." I nod in reply. Go east, follow the road, reach a village, find a Keine. Komachi gives me a rough pat on my back, and a strong smile. "One more thing. While it's early morning now, some of the locals are looking for a late snack." It didn't take a genius to figure out what that meant. With another nod, I start heading east. Chances are I'm going to be in for a nice, long walk.

Walking down the road, I suddenly feel like i'm being watched. Watching can quickly become flowing. I shift my posture slightly to be ready for a potential fight. Several minutes pass of being observed.

Eventually, my caution pays off when an umbrella is swung towards my head. I duck below the attack, and counterattack with a leg sweep. I feel my attacker fall as I then put my foot on her chest.

Pinned down is a young girl with cyan hair in a bob cut. Her blue dress is partly covered with my shoe, her face covered with surprise. "But, but I was supposed to surprise you!" She said in an innocent voice.

"And hitting someone across the head is your idea of a surprise?" I reply.

"Yea!" There is a few moments of of hard silence before I speak back up.

"Will you attack me if I release you?"

"No! I won't be able to surprise you anyway!" Another moment passes before I Release her and and she suddenly flies off. Wait, she can fly? Well color me surprised by something.

Regardless, this place probably isn't the safest place in the world to be. I turn back towards the human village. It was midday, and I can consider myself lucky that I've only attacked by her so far. Who knows what else I'll run into along the way.

As I enter the Human Village, the people guarding the entrance gives me a stare. I ignore it and make my way in. After all, a good way to avoid being stopped is to look like you belong.

Making my way further in, I eventually realize that I definitely look like I don't belong. Everyone is wearing clothing drastically differently clothing compared to what I was given. Eventually I approach a guard. "Excuse me, where can I find, uh, Keine?"

"The school teacher? Just go down that street." He points down a very busy street.

"Thank you." I reply. He simply nods back as I start to make my way. It doesn't take long for me to come across what appears to be a school. Of Course, a bunch of kids running out only supports that. Looking around for a teacher, I soon see a Woman with long blue hair and a strange house-like hat.

I approach the woman with a question. "Excuse me, I'm looking for someone named Keine. I heard I could find her here."

"I'm Keine. I can imagine you're new to Gensokyo, right?" The woman asks me.

"I am."

"Good, well, I guess whoever told you to seek me out also told you that I'd help get you on your feet, right?" I reply with a nod.

"Correct. By the way, I'm Suzume Michishun." I give a low bow of respect.

"Nice to meet you Suzume. Allow me to properly introduce myself. I'm Keine Kamishirasawa. Teacher and protector of the Human Village."

"Well Met." I lift myself from my bow.

"Come inside, and I'll get you acquainted with some of the essentials." With that, Keine heads inside, with me following her.

I follow Keane into the school building and into her office. We stopped at her desk where she pulled out a box. "In here are some clothing, important local history, a map, some cash, and keys to a home for new outsiders." I personally go through the contents, taking stock of what I see.

When I look at the scroll, likely containing the history I unravel it, only to see a series of exotic characters. "What language is this written in?" I ask.

"Japanese, why do you ask?"

"So, it's not Kalich." I mutter silently. Keine picks up on what I say however.

"Kalich? Can't say I've ever heard of that language."

"That's a, uh, long story." I reply, not wanting to dive into the issue.

"Well, I'll be happy to teach you how to read Japanese." I think for a brief moment.

"I will take you up on that."

"Great! I'll iron out the details with you once we get you home. Follow me."

As Keine opens up the door to a house. "Here it is." She says, pushing the door open. I follow her in, then taking a few steps further in. I'm not exactly disappointed with what I see.

A bed of some kind lies in a corner, next to a window. The sun isn't beaming through it at the moment, but I expect it to do so in the morning. Next to it is a drawer of sorts. When I approach it, Keine speaks up. "It might not be common where you're from, but here one normally takes off their shoes when entering."

I turn around to take a look at Keine after what she just told me. I nod as I take my shoes off, letting my socks protect my feet. I place my shoes near the door and head back to the drawer, opening it up to inspect its contents. It consists of several unique clothing designs. I turn behind me to see what appears to be a kitchen.

The kitchen holds everything I expected it to hold. Various cooking tools, an Ice box containing what appears to be several basic ingredients.


End file.
